‘We’ve not banned sales of alcohol,’ Niger State Gov clarifies

Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, has cleared the air on viral reports that say it has allegedly banned the sales of alcoholic drinks in the state.

Bago said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday.

The state governor disclosed that he had not issued such an order and called on the public to disregard the reports emanating from social media and blogs.

Reports recently went viral that the state’s Liquor and Licensing Board had prohibited alcohol in nine local government areas of the state, including Suleja.

He said his attention has been drawn to a report making the rounds of some blogs claiming that the Niger State Government has prohibited the sale of alcohol.

While refuting the claim, the Niger State governor clarified, “We wish to state categorically that the governor, who has been busy initiating and overseeing many people-centered projects across the state, never issued such a directive.

“The liquor and Licensing board is yet to be constituted by the governor, as such, no directive of this kind can come from a board yet to be formed,” he said.

The statement directed security agents to arrest the self-appointed secretary of the board, Mohammed Ibrahim.